On August 30th the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) issued a revised advisory (2022-08) to US flagged commercial vessels operating in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea,Gulf of Aden, Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Red Sea, and Western Indian Ocean.
The advisory warned that regional conflict, heightened military activity, and increased political tensions continued to pose threats to merchant vessels operating in these geographical areas.
It further stated that threats might come from a number of different sources including, drones, limpet mines, explosive boats, and pirates and armed robbers.
So far this year MARAD has not published any maritime alerts for the Red Sea, Persian Gulf, and Western Indian Ocean region, In 2021 it notified the industry of seven security incidents involving merchant vessels operating in these areas. One of the alerts described a mine placed on a vessel’s hull while operating in the Persian Gulf. Other alerts referred to
incidences of explosions, one occurring near a vessel’s waterline while
transiting the Gulf of Oman and two occurring onboard vessels underway in the
Arabian Sea.
MARAD recognized that some of the vessels involved may
have been targeted specifically due to their association with certain
countries, individuals, or companies, but it also emphasized that the potential
remains for miscalculation or misidentification that could lead to aggressive
actions against “non-associated” vessels.
MARAD said that that the conflict in Yemen continued to
pose a direct or collateral risk to vessels transiting the Red Sea, Bab
el-Mandeb and Gulf of Aden, and that piracy poses a threat in the Gulf of Aden,
Western Arabian Sea, and Western Indian Ocean.
MARAD recommend ed that vessels operating in this area should
review their security measures, ensure their AIS is transmitting at all times
(except in extraordinary circumstances, consistent with the provisions of
SOLAS), and monitor VHF Channel 16.
While ship operators and masters are likely aware of the
industry’s decision to remove the Indian Ocean High Risk Area (HRA) for piracy
as of January 1st 2023, Gard advised that threat and risk
assessments should still be conducted after this date, and best management
practices should continue to be followed in order to mitigate the risks
presented by remaining security threats in the region.
Furthermore, the Voluntary Reporting Area (VRA)
administered by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) has not
changed. Ships entering the VRA are encouraged to continue to report to the
UKMTO and register with the Maritime Security Centre for the Horn of Africa
(MSCHOA) in accordance with the BMP5.
